Splatoon Oneshots
by Shads42
Summary: A collection of oneshots from the world of Splatoon. Most of these are stand-alone works but some may feature reoccurring characters
1. Drunken Cephalopods

**Drunken Cephalopods**

 **The idea for this story was given by Juggernaut-Ghost, and this oneshot is dedicated to them.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing official**

* * *

was three o'clock in the morning on a Monday. All was dark in Inkopolis, save for the faint glow of streetlights. Here and there nightbirds flitted about, one of them letting out an unhappy squawk as Judd tried to pounce on it. Fortunately for the bird, the cat missed by mere inches, and the bird would live to sing another day.

Few of the residents of the city were out and about at this time of day. Why would they wish to trek through the cold and lonely darkness? For starters, it wasn't safe. All sorts of street urchins lurked about in the shadows, waiting to pounce on some unsuspecting citizen. Not to mention the fact that in the night, it would be easy to lose one's way. The few evolved sea creatures that were out moved quickly, silently, hoping to draw as little attention to themselves as possible.

One such creature was a little pink anemone girl named Blanche, who was hurrying home from a friend's house. Faint snores, coming from her clownfish companion Corinne, could be heard softly peppering the air around her.

"Oh, mother's going to flay us alive if she realizes how late we are getting home." Blanche murmured to herself in worry, stumbling slightly on the uneven path. It wasn't like she had intended to stay over there so late. No, quite the contrary, Blanche was a good little girl who listened to her mother. But tonight the child had fallen asleep while watching a movie and had not awoken from her slumber until long after her curfew.

Now, had the pinkette been thinking clearly, it would have been better to remain at her friend's house. While the girl's mother most certainly would have been furious over the impromptu sleepover, at the very least her daughter would have been safe. But out here in the darkness, safety was never guaranteed. No one knew what prowled in the night, and a child as young as she was made quite the tempting target.

A faint rustling sound filled the air, coupled with some muffled exclamations and heavy footsteps. Blanche flinched, reaching up into her fluffy tentacles to gently shake her clownfish friend.

"Corinne? Corinne, wake up? Do you hear that?" She hissed softly.

"Huh? Wha…?" Corinne let out a yawn, shaking her head a few times to clear the sleepy fog from her brain. "Oh, hi Blanche. Are we still at Brianna's house?"

"Shhh, be quiet," Blanche replied. "Don't you hear that?"

The noise had grown closer now in the brief conversation between the anemone and the clownfish. Quickly the pair came to a stop on the dusty footpath, just under the halo of a streetlight. There were bushes nearby, and soon the pair had hidden themselves among the leaves. Blanche was trembling, and little Corinne had buried herself in the girl's tentacles as well as she could. It was clear that they were terrified, and as the sounds continued to grow steadily louder it became possible to pick out some distinct words.

" _Weigh-hay and up she rises!_

 _Weigh-hay and up she rises!_

 _Weigh-hay and up she rises!_

 _Early in the morning!"_

Now that, admittedly, was rather unexpected. Singing, at this time of night? Blanche expected to hear yelling, screaming, and overall just a general angry cacophony of sound. She certainly did not dream that the sounds of a shanty would fill the air instead.

" _What will we do with a drunken sailor?_

 _What will we do with a drunken sailor?_

 _What will we do with a drunken sailor?_

 _Early in the morning!"_

A dark mass rounded the corner, stumbling over its feet. Closer examination when said mass passed under the lights revealed it to be a pair of men, one an Inkling and the other an Octoling. Both were dressed in work clothing, something that a pair of construction workers would probably wear. They had arms thrown around each other for support, and in their free hands they held glass bottles filled with amber liquid. Given how the pair was hiccuping and careening all over the place as they belted out their song, it was probably alcohol of some kind.

" _Weigh-hay and up she rises!_

 _Weigh-hay and up she rises!_

 _Weigh-hay and up she rises!_

 _Early in the morning!"_

"Ha ha, Octavio, this is the life!" The Inkling laughed raucously, pausing to take another swig of his liquor. "I have the greatest fiancee in the world and the best friend on land. What more could I need?"

"Not much, Cuttlefish, not much at all," Octavio replied with a hiccup, his words slurring together as he staggered forward clumsily. "Took you long enough to pop the question, though."

"Ah, but I did, didn't I?" Cuttlefish bellowed, ignoring the small squeak of fear that came out of Corinne. While Blanche was slowly starting to feel slightly less afraid, the same could not be said for the clownfish.

"To health, wealth, and happiness for the future bride and groom!" Octavio tripped over his feet, smashing his face against one of the lamp posts that dotted the path. "Cheers!"

The two men clinked bottles before taking a few more swigs of liquor, sputtering and coughing as it raced down their throats.

" _Put 'em in the scuppers with a hosepipe on him!_

 _Put 'em in the scuppers with a hosepipe on him!_

 _Put 'em in the scuppers with a hosepipe on him!_

 _Early in the morning!"_

"Is this some sort of strange cephalopod ritual, do you think?" Blanche hissed to Corinne, who was still trembling. The two men were still lurching and swaying all over the place as they slowly and unsteadily made their way down the walkway. Several times they nearly fell over, as if they were a pair of dancers gifted with two left feet and not a drop of grace.

"I don't know, and I don't care," Corinne replied. "What if they eat clownfish? I don't want to die!"

"I won't let them do that," Blanche said, flinching as Cuttlefish plopped onto the pavement right in front of the bus they were hiding in. The fall didn't seem to affect the Inkling in the slightest, who chose to burst out laughing. Octavio began to chuckle as well, finding the situation rather hilarious.

It took several tries for Cuttlefish to regain his wobbling feet, and when he did so the pair continued to trek down the street, singing their shanty drunkenly all the way.

" _Weigh-hay and up she rises!_

 _Weigh-hay and up she rises!_

 _Weigh-hay and up she rises!_

 _Early in the morning!"_

Blanche slowly crawled out of the bushes once she judged it to be safe enough to emerge from her hiding place. Was it a wise choice to make, given how quickly drunks could go from being bumbling fools to violent adversaries? No, probably not, but in her short life Blanche had never even heard of alcohol, let alone how it could affect the mind.

And, like most young children, Blanche was quite the curious lady indeed. She wanted to see more of this strange, funny pair. Their stumbling, dance-like clumsiness as they walked was as amusing to the girl as it was to Cuttlefish and Octavio, causing a childish giggle to escape her lips.

"Have you lost your mind?" Corinne demanded, scandalized and fearful at her companion's actions. "What if they see us?"

"Calm down, Corinne," Blanch whispered, craning her neck and stretching up on her tiptoes to get a better look at the pair of evolved cephalopods. "I think we're fine around them. Besides, don't you think that song their singing is funny?"

As if to punctuate that remark, the pair burst out into another verse, belting out the words as if the whole world needed to hear them.

" _Put him in the brig until he's sober!_

 _Put him in the brig until he's sober!_

 _Put him in the brig until he's sober!_

 _Early in the morning!"_

"No, I really don't." Corinne whimpered. "I want to go home! I don't like being out here in the dark. It's scary! What if those men turn around and decide to go after us or something?"

"Quit being such a worrywart." Blanche retorted, shaking her head slightly. "C'mon, let's get going. I want to follow them."

"What about going home? Going home is nice." The clownfish pleaded.

"In a minute." Blanche began to tiptoe down the sidewalk, eagerly sneaking after them. Corinne was shaking, letting out a yelp as the men once more broke out into song.

" _Weigh-hay and up she rises!_

 _Weigh-hay and up she rises!_

 _Weigh-hay and up she rises!_

 _Early in the morning!"_

The music faded as the men turned the corner, continuing to swig from their bottles.

"To a happy wife and a happy life!" One of them called out. "Cheers!"

For a moment, neither Blanche nor Corinne moved.

"Did that just happen?" Blanche inquired finally. It seemed that the bizarreness of the situation had finally caught up with the girl.

"I'm not certain," Corinne admitted. "Can we go home now? I don't like being out here, it's scary."

"Okay, Corinne." Blanche began to hurry on down the street again, finally relenting a bit. "I suppose it would be best for us to be on our way now."

The little girl continued rushing home, smiling a bit as faintly the notes of another shanty started up in the distance. Her mother would be furious about her coming home late, that much was for certain. No doubt the anemone was in for quite the lecture when she finally arrived.

"I like them." She giggled. "They're funny."

"No, they're weird," Corinne replied with an eye roll. "Cephalopods. I will never understand them."


	2. The Cat Burglar

**The Cat Burglar**

 **The idea for this oneshot came from someone in the SWC (sorry, I forgot your name!), so a big thanks to them**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing official**

* * *

In the richer section of downtown Inkopolis, nestled in between skyscrapers and parking lots, lay the sprawling complex of Museum d'Alfonso. The fine arts and cultural museum was a tourist destination, filled with paintings, sculptures, and exhibits revolving around the history of art. The place also doubled as a Turf War arena, closing off the garden gallery every so often so the youth of Inkopolis could splat each other to their little hearts' content.

But that was what it was used for during the day when it was open to the public. At night, well, the museum prided itself on being one of the most secure places in were motion sensors everywhere, a state of the art alarm system, and cameras trained on every room. This was arguably the best-secured place in all of Inkopolis, aside from perhaps the Squid Sisters' high rise apartment.

Of course, these all served as deterrents to would-be thieves, for the most part. Then again, there would always be a few people that subscribed to the belief that everything was theirs for the taking. One such evolved sea creature was currently scaling the side of the building, dressed all in dark colored hues. Given his manner of attire and method of entering the building, it was obvious that he wasn't supposed to be there.

"I can't believe I didn't think of this before." The thief hissed to himself as he clambered towards the top of the structure. "Oh, what would my grandpappy Amos think of me?"

Yes, it was Sheldon, the horseshoe crab owner of Ammo Knights. Now one might wonder what the respectable, law-abiding resident of Inkopolis was doing breaking into the Museum. It certainly was not a place for anyone to be this late at night. Perhaps he was looking to pick up a painting or sculpture to sell to some shady dealer. It was a logical conclusion to draw, given his matter of entering the building.

Sheldon smiled as he reached the top of the building. The horseshoe crab couldn't believe it had taken him this long to come up with this idea. But now was not the time for him to throw a pity party. Right now, Sheldon had a job to do, and he was going to accomplish it.

"Now then, let's see what we're dealing with," Sheldon muttered to himself, sliding a filter over his goggles. Infrared laser beams suddenly sprang to life in his vision as everything was coated in a red area.

"Heh, that's not going to work." The horseshoe crab smirked before carefully working his way past the laser beams, being careful not to break any of them. After all, setting off the alarm wouldn't be any good. Sheldon really didn't want to go to jail, that would only stain his reputation among the citizens of Inkopolis. And what would his grandpappy think of his grandson harming the family name?

No, being captured by the police was not a good thing. In fact, in Sheldon's mind, this wasn't even an option. He was a genius, after all. The plan he had come up with was completely foolproof, though in truth that might have been his arrogance speaking. No plan, after all, had a hundred percent chance of being successful, but to Sheldon his did.

Now, what exactly was this plan? After all, it was a bit odd that the weapon's dealer had broken into Museum d'Alfonso. Then again, perhaps it wasn't that odd. Developing new weapons took lots of money, and then manufacturing them cost even more. It was wholly possible that Sheldon had sustained losses he had hidden from the public, losses so great that the founder of Ammo Knights couldn't possibly recoup them without sharply raising the price of his goods or taking drastic measures.

Now, drastic measures could mean any sort of things, like robbing a bank or staging a kidnapping of some wealthy citizen of Inkopolis. But it could also mean that Sheldon quite possibly was planning on stealing one of the many famous paintings that resided inside of Museum d'Alfonso. And oh, there were several to choose from - the Mako Lisa, of course, being the most well-known one. No doubt the director of the museum would be very interested in getting any of the paintings back, no matter the price.

But in truth, Sheldon wasn't planning on stealing a mere painting. He wasn't a lover of fine arts and didn't have any notions of becoming an art thief. No, while he was planning on stealing things, paintings weren't on his list. His actual target was much less glamorous.

"Sheldon, you're a genius." The horseshoe crab said to himself as he ducked into a camera's blindspot. "Now to continue on with my plan…"

He continued to sneak deeper into the building, eventually reaching the open courtyard where the museum held ink battles. The spinning walls were shut off for the night, and the grounds were pristinely cleaned so that the glass cases shone. Right now it looked to be a place for the fancier and higher ranking members of society rather than the rabbles of youth who would come tearing through the place and coating it with ink. But at the moment Sheldon couldn't really be bothered to care about how glitzy the place looked. No, he was here on a mission and he had to accomplish it.

Stealthily he crept through the area, ducking and dodging any stray infrared beams. Most of them were concentrated around the paintings, meaning that they were quite easy to avoid. Only a few of them pierced the battlefield, and there was ample space around them for the crab to slip by. His eyes searched the area, looking for one thing and one thing only. There is was, tucked behind one of the larger bushes in the courtyard area. With a smirk he stealthily crept across the large green space, being careful to stay outside the range of the cameras.

"Oh, this is perfect...Grandpappy would be so proud of me." Sheldon smirked as he carefully set about pilfering his target. "This is going to be the biggest thing to hit Inkopolis since I debuted the splatlings."

Once the horseshoe crab deemed that he had taken enough of his target, the young man stealthily shut the door before starting to make his way out of the museum. His little heist may have gone off without a hitch but he still had a lot of work to do before the night was over.

* * *

"Welcome to Ammo Knights!"

Sheldon scurried over to the door as a group of fresh looking inklings walked through the doors. A few of them nodded to him in greeting as they perused the shop, picking up weapons here and there to inspect them. The shopkeeper held his breath as a few of them caught sight of his newest product and wandered on over to look at it.

"...a bucket?" The only girl in the group frowned and picked it. "Why are you selling buckets, Sheldon?"

"I'm so glad you asked that!" Sheldon scurried on over to them, snatching up another slosher to proudly show it off. "This, my fine cephalopods, is the newest weapon type that I have invented: the slosher! Great for covering ink and splatting people, and then with the sub and special weapons you can really shift the weapon towards a more offensive or defensive playstyle. We've got several models available right now - for example, the one that this young lady has is the tri-slosher! It's got three separate tanks for ink inside of it for maximum horizontal coverage, and with the disruptor and the bubbler it's easy for this to be a defensive power house."

"...it looks like a bucket…"

"Yeah, come to think of it, doesn't it look like the buckets the jellyfish janitors use over at Museum d'Alfonsino?"

Upon hearing those words, Sheldon paled. They couldn't have found about his little heist already, had they? If so that would be disastrous! His reputation, down the drain, and all over a few buckets he had "borrowed" to make the first few sloshers. Right about now he was starting to regret not having the patience to wait for the supplies he had ordered to come in before making the weapons.

"It must be a coincidence. Janitorial buckets don't have the strength to hold up in a turf war," Sheldon stammered.

The other inklings looked at him flatly, no doubt not convinced with his little cover-up. Eventually, though, the girl holding the tri-slosher sighed.

"Well, I've been wanting to try something out aside from my squiffer for a while...you said it had disruptors and the bubbler in the set?"

"Yes indeed miss! If that's not too your liking I do have a few other sets with di-"

"That's fine, I'll take this one," she interrupted, looking for a price tag. Upon finding it she pulled out the proper amount of money and set it on the counter. "Come on boys, let's go see how this bucket holds up in turf wars."

"Slosher...it's a slosher…" Sheldon mumbled to himself as they left the shop, breathing a sigh of relief. "Man...I didn't think they'd realize it…Sheldon, you're an idiot...if they find out I stole some of those buckets from the Museum the authorities will have my hide..."


	3. After the Credits

**After the Credits**

 **Note: This story takes place in a slight AU due to it being originally written before the anouncement of the Octo Expansion**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing official**

* * *

"I still can't believe that DJ Octavio managed to brainwash you with a pair of sunglasses," Marie snickered as she took a bite out of her krill sandwich. The pop idol was dressed in her Agent 1 garb, courtesy of the fact that she was currently sitting in Octo Valley rather than the cushy studio she and her cousin recorded in.

"I mean, out of all the things, sunglasses? Seriously? Callie, I know you can be rather impulsive but I thought you had better sense than that."

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" Callie groaned in response, sipping her lemon tea as she pouted.

"Nope," Marie grinned in reply.

"Ugh, no fair!" Callie whined, childishly kicking the ground. "You have no idea how horrible it was being hypnotized! Stuck inside my own head and forced to see everything that was happening but I couldn't move my own body. And don't even get me started on that horrid outfit! It was so unfresh I thought I was going to die in embarrassment! Did Octavio seriously think that it was fashionable?"

"Hey! I'll have you know my octolings did a fantastic job designing that," Octavio snapped from inside the snowglobe shaped prison he was being kept in. The elderly octarian was still sulking over his second defeat, and having Marie bring it up continuously was starting to get on his nerves.

"Silence, prisoner," Marie ordered.

"Yeah, serves you right for what you tried to do," Callie added. Octavio growled something out under his breath while the two Squid Sisters went back to their picnic - and their bickering.

"Agent 4 reporting for duty!"

Suddenly a green tentacled inkling boy dressed in a modern day hero suit burst through the hole that led to the sewers. It was Agent 4, the youngest member of the Squidbeak Splatoon. The upstart fourteen year old had been the one to take on the octarian army and stop DJ Octavio from succeeding in taking over Inkopolis. He was a nice kid, if a bit reckless in the middle of a fight.

"I came here as quickly as I could," he panted out, running over to them. "What happened? Octavio didn't escape, did he?"

"Sadly no, I'm still here," Octavio griped, causing Agent 4 to breathe a quick sigh of relief.

"So...if Octavio didn't escape then what's up? Is there another mission for me or something?"

"Sit down Agent 4." Marie gestured to the bench nearby her. "No, there's no mission. Instead, something important is happening."

"Um...okay?" Agent 4 sat on the bench, a confused look on his face. Something important? Whatever could Marie mean by that? As far as the boy knew he had taken care of the remnants of the octarian army last week, but the tone of the other Agents' message had been urgent. But if there was no mission then why was it so important for him to come to Octo Canyon immediately?

"You should see the look on your face," Callie giggled. "It's priceless."

"Mmhmm," Marie nodded before looking over at the hole in the ground. "They should be getting here any second."

"Getting here any second? What do you mean by that?"

"Howdy, buckos!"

A gravelly voice split the air as an extremely ancient inkling climbed out of the sewers, a smile on his face. He had a long white beard and was dressed in a tattered military uniform, complete with a bright blue cap. Following him was a tough looking inkling girl, her long tentacles and brilliant eyes dyed vermillion. Despite the fact that she was idly twirling her gun around there was a focused expression on her face.

"Gramps!" Callie and Marie rushed towards the old inkling, eagerly embracing him. "You're back!"

"Yessiree buckos! Cap'n Cuttlefish is back in town!" The older inkling laughed and began chatting with his granddaughters, leaving Agent 4 to stand there on the sidelines awkwardly.

"So...you're the one who put Octavio back in his snowglobe, eh?"

Agent 4 jumped, not expecting to hear a voice so close to his ear. Turning around he caught sight of the mysterious girl who had followed Cuttlefish here. She was dressed in a strange black and yellow outfit with a pair of neon blue headphones on her head. It looked vaguely like his own hero suit, perhaps an earlier model? Her gun was equally strange, again black and yellow but it looked like some kind of mutant splattershot.

As their eyes met the instantly stilled, sizing each other up. The air grew tense, as if a fight was brewing. Perhaps one was. Here were two of the most skilled inklings in the world, each a savior of Inkopolis in their own right. Naturally, the two would want to see who was the stronger one of the two.

"Not bad for a shrimp," she eventually said after a long moment, sticking out her hand for him to shake. "The name's Parthenia, better known as Agent 3 around these parts."

"Pleasure to meet you," he replied coolly, hiding the fact that he was a bit miffed at being called shrimp. "I'm Jace, Agent 4."

The pair lapsed back into silence as they shook hands, still observing their fellow agent. Callie, Marie, and Cap'n Cuttlefish slowly halted their conversation to watch them, trying to guess as to what was going on in their squadmates' minds.

"I still can't believe you two are back," Marie said, putting an end to the silence and the growing tension. "Where have you been for the past two years?"

"This lassie here," Cuttlefish exclaimed, slapping Parthenia on the back in a congratulatory manner, "discovered a secret octarian base out in the midst of the ocean. We set up a base on an island nearby and managed to take it out."

"Neither of us told you about it because of the fear that if you were captured the enemy would be able to get the information about our plan out of you," Parthenia added, edging slightly away from the over-enthusiastic Cap'n Cuttlefish. "A wise choice, as it turned out."

"Come on! How was I supposed to know that those glasses would hypnotize me?" Callie demanded defensively. "It was mixed in with the fan mail, I thought they were from a fan, not Octavio."

"Hah, my plan was brilliant," Octavio crowed. "And then your cousin and your little recruit had to go and mess everything up."

"Oh, put a sock in it," Parthenia muttered. "Your plan was as canned as tuna and twice as oily. There wasn't anything brilliant about it."

"Why you ungrateful slimy little hipster!" Octavio thrashed around in his prison, snarling. "Let me out of here so I can give you both a taste of my spicy wasabi beats!"

"No thanks," Jace said curtly. "Off the Hook and the Squid Sisters put your music to shame."

"Off the Hook?" Parthenia blinked, a confused look on her face. "Who are they? Just what have I missed these past two years?"

"Well, you see…" Jace grinned sheepishly as Callie and Marie giggled. "It's kind of a long story…"

* * *

 **I might do something more with these characters...I honestly don't know. But as always follows, favorites, and reviews are always appreciated. And if you want to submit an idea for a possible short story idea be sure to let me know. If I write it you'll recieve credit for the idea.**


	4. Forming a Team

**Forming a Team**

"...how'd they win…" Rider growled to himself as he wrecked targets in Sheldon's firing range. The dynamo roller, normally barely a burden, felt heavier in his hands than normal. His green eyes were narrowed in rage, a nasty scowl present on his face as the older teen unleashed attack after attack on the dummies. Try as he might, though, this training session just wasn't going well for him. Yes lime ink surrounded the targets, but several of them had taken multiple hits to splat, an anomaly for a skilled fighter like himself. The lime tentacled inkling's battle reflexes seemed to be dulled, dormant even, as if they had fallen into some kind of slumber and try as he might the teenager couldn't awaken them.

Needless to say, it annoyed him. No, it beyond annoyed him. How could a little scrub beat someone as powerful as himself?

"...it was my teammates…" A scowl appeared on his face. "They weren't good enough."

' _You know that's not true,'_ a nagging voice said in his mind. ' _You lost because your team wasn't coordinated, and that's on you. Throwing a random team together for the tournament was a lousy idea.'_

"...shut up…" Rider muttered. "I don't need a team. One good player is all you need to win, and I'm an exceptional fighter."

' _A fat lot of good that did you. You still lost because the blue team had something your team didn't - trust and teamwork.'_

"I don't need something like teamwork! It'll only drag me down," the lime tentacled inkling snarled. "And why am I arguing with myself anyway? It's stupid and I look like an idiot."

With another frustrated sigh, Rider went back to working on perfecting his latest technique with the dynamo, a faster flick with a twist added in to increase the horizontal spread. So far it just didn't seem to be clicking, something that only served to put him in a worse mood. Eventually he gave up, leaning up against the wall with a peeved look on his face.

"What's gotten into me?" His question rang in the air, unanswered. Then again, no one was around to provide one. This was something that Rider would have to figure out himself.

A few days passed, and nothing seemed to be going well for him. The turf wars he had been in mostly resulted in losses rather than the crushing defeats Rider was used to giving his opponents. Try as he might, some kind of spark had left him after being beaten by the idiots on the blue team. That was how the green tentacled inkling thought of them anyway, ridiculous idiots. Although admitted it was rather entertaining to watch them fumble their way through turf wars. Sometimes they won, sometimes they lost, but no matter what they always seemed to have fun together. Bobble and Goggles especially always had smiles plastered across their faces, paired with raucous laughter. Even when faced with defeat the team usually still was cheerful, simply because they were hanging out together.

' _I wish I had friends like them...wait, what?'_ Ryker stiffened as that thought drifted across his brain. ' _I can't seriously be jealous of them...can I?'_

Admittedly, now that he thought about it, a team would be nice. He's have friends to watch his back, and more importantly be able to coordinate strategies with them. Would anyone want to be his friend though? The teenager did have quite the reputation of being a lone wolf, mocking teammates and treating them like they were worthless. He could be so cruel. Look at what he'd done to Stealth, Bamboo, and Blazer during the battle with Goggles' team. Those three had been treated as disposable, worthless save for their ability to launch inkstrikes. It was, in truth, a poor example of sportsmanship.

"...I need a team…" The words slipped out of his mouth unbidden, surprising him. But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Rider needed a team. But the big question now was who to ask? Would anyone even _want_ to work with him? He was cruel, cold and unforgiving and a glacier.

Sighing again, the grumpy teenager leaned against the wall, trying to think. Goggles? No, he already was on a team. One of the S4? No, they had their own teams as well, and besides, they had all made it clear that he was nowhere near their skill level. Rider supposed that it would be possible to just ask random inklings but did he really want to just ask three newbies? Not really.

Wait, that was it. Random inklings. He did have a team, a temporary team he had to form for the tournament. They had all been random inklings he'd kind of roped into fighting with him, though admittedly he had been a poor teammate.

"Stealth, Bamboo, and Blazer," Rider mumbled, bolting upright. "I've fought with them before, perhaps they'd be willing to team up again. It's worth a shot at the very least."

With that bit of resolve in his mind, Rider grabbed his dynamo and headed towards the exit of the training grounds. He had teammates to go find.

* * *

An hour later he was wandering around Inkopolis, searching for any of his one-time teammates. In all honesty he doubted that Bamboo or Blazer would be in the square. The former was probably off doing her wood carvings again, and the latter was most likely studying. But Stealth...Stealth might be lurking somewhere in the plaza. He was more of a fighter than the other two after all.

So far, however, there had been no sign of the younger teen or his familiar stealth goggles anywhere. He hadn't been hanging out in the lobby of Inkopolis Tower, or in Booyah Base. Nor was the teen anywhere in one of the small restaurants taking a lunch break. Needless to say, it was starting to really frustrate Rider.

"Oh come on, how hard is it to find him?" Rider growled as he sat down on a bench to take a break. "I've seen him here almost every single day and the one day I actually need him, Stealth just vanishes."

Sighing in frustration, the tan skinned inkling began looking around, when he noticed a rather familiar inkling leaving the tower. It was Stealth. Given that he had come out of the tower, he probably had been in a turf war. His earlier frustration forgotten, Rider stood up and walked over to the inkling.

"Oi."

"Wha-" Stealth jumped at the sudden greeting. Turning around, he paled seeing who was behind him. "R-Rider...I didn't expect to see you here."

"Yeah, well, whatever," the older inkling replied brusquely. "I'll be blunt. How'd you like to team up with me again?"

"What?" Stealth clapped a hand over his mouth after his shout, a bit embarrassed at making so much noise. A few inklings around them stared at the pair, disproving looks on their faces. A few glares from Rider, however, chased them away. No one really wanted to mess with him.

"What do you mean you want to team up with me? I thought we were a team for that one time only," he continued more quietly once the unwanted attention had dissipated. "Besides, we weren't that good, we lost to Team Blue."

"...that was due to poor planning on my part," Rider sighed. "And I need the power of a team now. So what do you say?"

"Ah…" Stealth was a bit bewildered. Was this really the same inkling that just a few weeks ago was saying he didn't need a team? What on earth happened to change him? He was confused and flattered. After all, Rider apparently thought he was skilled enough to fight alongside him. That was something that the teen hadn't been expecting, especially with how frustrated Rider had been after their loss to Team Blue.

"Sure, I'll gladly join," he finally said, a grin on his face. "Who else is on the team?"

"I was going to ask Bamboo and Blazer. Do you have any idea where they are?"

"Um…Blazer is probably at the library studying. You know how much she focuses on school," Stealth said after a moment's thought. "Bamboo...no clue where she is. Blazer would probably know though."

"Alright," Rider mused. "I'll go find them and see if they're interested. Meet me in Sheldon's firing range at four, okay? We'll start practice then."

"You got it!" Stealth saluted before darting off into the crowds, hoping to squeeze in one or two more turf wars before practice. Rider watching him go, a slight smile on his face before shaking his head and heading for the library.

Sure enough, he found Blazer there on the fourth floor, pouring over a thick book about the landfish that had walked the earth before them. In all honesty, it was something that he found boring, but the girl appeared to be fascinated by it. In fact, she was so enthralled by the book that she didn't even realize that Rider was there until the teen tapped her on the shoulder.

"Oh hi Rider," she said cheerfully. "I didn't see you. What's up?"

"I'm forming a team and I wanted to see if you were interested in joining," he replied bluntly.

"Huh? You want to team up again?" She blinked in confusion, a hesitant look on her face. "Um...uh... I guess if Bamboo joins I'd be fine with it. I mean, we've been fighting together since we were little and I really don't want to just straight up abandon her. It wouldn't be right, you know? We promised each other we'd do turf wars together so you can see why I'm-"

"I'm already planning on asking her," Rider interrupted, his head swimming a bit from the girl's long rambling answer. "You can come with me if you want."

"Okay, just let me check this book out real quick!" Blazer ran off to the circulation desk and handed the book to the librarian stationed there. It only took a few minutes before she was running back to Rider, book in tow and a smile on her face. "All set!"

"Great, do you know where Bamboo is?"

"Probably in her studio," Blazer replied after a moment's thought. "She said something about working on her wood carvings earlier. Come on, let's go!"

The studious girl lead the way to a small unassuming storefront, with tons of intricate wooden sculptures stationed in the windows. It appeared to be empty, but Blazer tried the door anyway. It opened, revealing a small and homely workspace filled with more sculptures and sawdusty air. In the midst of this was Bamboo, chiseling away at another log.

"Bamboo! I came to visit, and I brought a visitor," Blazer announced cheerfully.

"Okay...oh it's you," the quiet girl replied, pausing her work and lifting the brim of her hat a little bit so she could see Rider better. "What do you want with me?"

"I'm forming a team, and I wanted to see if you would be interested in joining us," he responded in a somewhat gruff tone.

"Eh...sure, you're strong."

"Guess that means I'm in too," Blazer cheered. "So, what's next?"

"We're meeting at Sheldon's firing range at four," Rider said after checking his watch. "I trust you two will be there?"

"Yep!"

"Mhmm."

"Perfect. I'll see you two later then."

With that, Rider walked out of the shop, the two girls inside calling out a few goodbyes before the door closed. With a slight grin on his face - Blazer's good mood was apparently contagious - he headed for his apartment, intent on grabbing a few extra weapons before practice.

* * *

 **So I recently found a masterpost of translated chapters from the Splatoon manga and I figured I'd give it a read. Rider is actually one of my favorite characters from there so I figured I'd do something different and write a oneshot featuring him and the rest of the yellow-green team. I might do more oneshots based off the manga in the future too, though that's up in the air still.**

 **Anyways, if you liked it please leave a review. And if you have an idea for a possible oneshot, feel free to mention it. If I like it, I might write it (you will be credited with the idea of course).**


	5. Brainwashed

**Brainwashed**

"Hey bucko," Cap'n Cuttlefish said as he rapped on Agent 3's forehead. "You still alive in there?"

"..."

"Come on 3, up and at em!"

"Bzzt...krk…" The telephone lying on the ground sparked and buzzed to life before falling silent once more. Cuttlefish shot it a look before returning his attention to the girl sprawled out on the ground before him. She wasn't moving, save for the occasion twitch of her fingers. It was understandable, the teal inkling had headbutted her way through a bunch of thick glass and steel. That couldn't have been easy on her noggin.

"How's our favorite knocked out agent doing, Pops?" Pearl's voice echoed in the air, slightly staticky due to the general quality of equipment.

"Sleeping like a lazy old tigerfish," Cuttlefish muttered with a sigh.

"Geez," Marina mumbled, "just how hard did she hit her head?"

"Ugh...ow…" Agent 3 groaned before blearily opening up her beautiful cyan eyes. "Oh...my head…"

"Agent 3!" Cuttlefish excitedly pulled the teenager into a hug, not noticing the choked expression on her face. "I thought you were done for bucko! And you saved our lives! You're a hero, Harriet!"

"Cap'n...please...need...air!"

"Cuttlefish, you're choking her," Marina exclaimed worriedly. Her words caused the old inkling to release his young agent in a hurry. Said agent flopped over onto the ground and curled up into a ball, a raspy cough escaping her.

"Sorry 'bout that, bucko. Guess this old soldier got a bit too excited, eh?"

"Yep…" Agent 3 groaned again before sitting up and looking around. Once she caught sight of the blender, the teal girl winced and rubbed her head.

"Boy, I really did a number on that thing," she muttered before realizing something. "Hey wait a second, where's that octoling that was with you?"

"Huh? Oh, you mean Agent 8," Cuttlefish laughed. "The lassie's fine, Three. In fact, she's making her way up to the surface right now. Fine cephalopod, that girl is. Why the last time I saw a young whippersnapper with that much drive was when I recruited you myself! I remember it like it was yesterday, the octarians had just attacked and-"

"Pipe down you old fart, we don't have time for stories!"

"...um...who is that.." Agent 3 asked, distaste in her voice.

"Pearl, be more polite!" Marina sighed, causing a rush of static to fill the air. "Sorry about that. I'm Marina, and then the other girl is my friend Pearl. We've been helping the captain and Eight make their way to the surface."

"Alright, then let's follow them."

"Bzzt...brzzt...blah...blah…" The telephone vibrated a little more before suddenly coming to life. "Y-you...How dare you do this you worthless cephalopods! Why are you associating with these idiotic and pathetic excuses for a self-aware species Number 10,008? You all will pay for this!"

The phone continued to shake and vibrate until finally, it ruptured, the front breaking off to expose a weird greenish-blue goop inside of it. It looked almost like a living version of the ink that all the sanitized octarians used, a viscous and ominous liquid. A portion of it oozed out of the broken machine, falling to the ground with a plop. Agent 3 frowned, studying it with a tense look on her face.

"Bzzt….krrkk...worthless creatures...but you'll have to do for now…"

With that, the gloop came to life and lunged at Agent 3. She scrambled backward, drawing her weapon and started blasting it with ink. The teal substance went flying, blasting through the greenish slime easily. Splatters of the stuff got everywhere, coating a fair bit of the ground and broken blender. Agent 3 sighed with relief and lowered her gun.

Suddenly, inexplicably, the slime started to move again. Slowly it crawled towards the phone, reforming into a gelatinous mass. It took a minute, but eventually, it was completely restored as if the inkling hadn't done anything to it at all.

"What…" Agent 3 whispered, a shocked look on her face. Almost unbidden she took a step back, wary of this foe. "How could it have survived that…"

"Fools," the phone hissed before the slime capitalized on Agent 3's shock. It catapulted forward, knocking the teenager to the ground before latching onto her arm. The strange substance was cold, almost freezing, as it began crawling up her arm. Its victim tried to maneuver her gun to shoot it off, but the slime moved to her back and continued its upward march.

"Gah...stupid gook...get off of me!"

"Oi, telephone, what're you doing to Agent 3?"

"You'll see…bzzt…"

Three continued to try and remove the offending substance from her body but to no avail. Soon it crawled up the back of her neck and head, the slimy feeling causing the girl to wrinkle her nose in disgust. It clamped down on top of her head, covering the agent's headphones and eyes. Desperately the teen clawed at the substance, trying to tear it off of her face.

"Behave you insolent pest," the telephone commanded. "You follow my orders now."

"Ngh...n-no…" Three grit her teeth, trying to ignore the strange sensations that were starting to assault her brain. Whispers invaded her mind, telling her to just give up and give in. She couldn't win this fight against Tartar, so why bother struggling? It was a pointless, pathetic endeavor. Why not just go peacefully and be a good little puppet for her master? Now that sounded good...no wait it didn't. Why was she thinking this? What was going on in her head? Who was Tartar? Was she going crazy? No, she wasn't it was the goop it had to be. But still, everything was so confusing. Her head was starting to ache from the relentless assault, maybe it would be better to just stop fighting? Maybe he wouldn't be so hard on her if she stopped resisting. It was doubtful but at the same time what did she have to lose? Her autonomy...but really was that even worth anything anymore? No, it wasn't.

Slowly, Three's hands dropped to the ground, no longer clawing and scratching at the gooey slime stuck to her head. Mental barriers crumbled into nothingness as inside Tartar's influence swept in, pushing all thoughts of resistance aside. Quickly the sentient AI began hijacking the teenager's brain, rewiring her into a mindless soldier. The goop slowly crawled off of her face, fashioning itself into a small tentacle-like protrusion so the now mindless soldier could see. Cuttlefish paled as Agent 3 looked at him, her once lively eyes now glazed over and blank.

"Heh heh heh...bzzt…" the telephone crackled in laughter. "Good...tie him up."

Agent 3 blinked once before rushing forward, lightning fast. Cuttlefish tried to get away but his creaky old bones were no match for a girl filled with the vigor of youth. His former ally tackled him to the ground, pinning him violently. Pulling out some rope the brainwashed teen began trussing the Cap'n up. Once she deemed him - or rather, once Tartar deemed him - sufficiently restrained the girl stepped back, awaiting her next order. Her master looked on approvingly.

"Even though your species is a pathetic lot, you at least have some value," he muttered as a ufo shaped craft swooped out of the darkness. A sanitized octoling was riding on the machine, though she hopped off as it neared the ground.

"Now then, you...Agent 3, was it? Not a very creative code name but it'll have to do," Tartar grumbled. "Tie this old inkling here to the ufo and then go stop Number 10,008. She must not be allowed to reach the surface. As for you, Number 987, take me to the NILS control room. The time has come for our final plan to be set in motion."

Both brainwashed cephalopods nodded before the octoling picked up Tartar's phone and walked off into the darkness. Agent 3, on the other hand, turned towards Cuttlefish. Dragging him over to the aircraft, she roughly tied him to the bottom before leaping atop the transportation device. Thanks to Tartar's brainwashing she knew how to pilot the craft, and soon the pair was flying off into the darkness above.

* * *

 **I've been working on fully completing the octo expansion, so I figured I'd do a oneshot featuring the events of Agent 3 getting brainwashed by Tartar.**

 **Anyways, reviews are always appreciated.**


	6. One Last Night

**One Last Night**

 **In Memory of Rebel**

* * *

Darkness blanketed the city, rendering almost any attempts at seeing things useless. Thick clouds covered the stars and turned the bright full moon into a pale and watery orb. It was warm out, courtesy of the fact that the season of summer was upon them. If it hadn't been for the clouds, it would have been a nice evening to go on a stroll. There were few residents of the city out and about at this time, including a pair of octolings.

"Come on Lunasa," one of them, the male, said. "Where are we going?"

"Don't worry Tavio," Lunasa replied, a grin on her face. "You'll see soon enough."

"You know I hate surprises...and it's late, we should be back at home."

"It's not that late," she protested. "Eleven at night isn't late. We've stayed up later all the time."

"Yeah, at our homes playing video games with each other. Not wandering the city! We barely know our way around here anyway."

Lunasa sighed and shook her head. Why on earth Tavio was so fearful was beyond her. Sometimes it seemed like he was scared of everything that walked the earth. It was normal to be afraid of some things, true, but the male octoling's fears seemed to be a bit extreme. Hopefully that wouldn't mess things up tonight.

The teenager continued to make her way through the city, occasionally glancing backward to ensure that her friend hadn't chickened out and left. So far so good, the crimson-tentacled boy was still behind her. A terrified expression was on his face. Suddenly there was a loud clattering noise coming from a nearby alley, causing Tavio to let out a startled screech. Moments later a small raccoon ran out from the path, a half-eaten piece of meat between its jaws.

"It must have been digging in a trash can and knocked it over," Lunasa said before looking over at Tavio. He was shaking like a leaf, his face pale from fright. "Oh, don't go worrying your pretty little head off. It's just a raccoon."

"Well, how was I supposed to know that," he demanded aghast. "It could have been a robber! You know that creepy street urchin lurks around these parts."

"Spyke? He's harmless."

"Yeah right…" Tavio shuddered at the thought of encountering the older teenager. He was a sinister looking fellow, always present with those snails of his and a screwdriver to pry them out of the shells. There was a bit of an exotic flair to his clothing, as ragged and tattered as they were. Something about the poncho he wore and the rug he sat on seemed to hint at a foreign culture, and his flirtatious manner of speaking certainly didn't help things either. Overall, he thoroughly creeped the male octoling out, and the teen hoped that they wouldn't run into the urchin tonight.

"Oh quit being such a worrywart," his companion scoffed, coming to a stop in front of a large and imposing building. "Besides, we're here."

"Um…" Tavio glanced skyward, taking in the building. It was tall, easily three or four stories high. The walls were gracefully curved around a central square tower that stood just slightly higher than the rest of the building. Perhaps at one point or another, it was a pretty place, but now it was dingy and rundown. Graffiti covered the walls, with only a haphazard effort made to wipe it away sometime in the distant glass doors in front were smudged, with a few of them covered in plywood. A sign out front carved from stone was chipped and cracked, some of the letters almost completely gone.

"...Museum D'alfonsino? What's this place?"

"A museum."

"No, seriously." Tavio rolled his amber eyes. "I had no idea. It couldn't possibly be a museum. And why'd you drag me out here to see this anyway? It's obviously closed for good. I mean, look at the condition the building is in."

"Yeah, I know it's closed," the girl replied, a mischievous grin on her face. "After Shellendorf Institute opened up this place lost a lot of business and eventually closed up for good. But we're not here for the art, we're here to check out the turf war stadium."

"...Why? Couldn't we explore in the morning?"

"Nope." Lunasa pulled one of the pieces of plywood aside, revealing a small jagged hole in the bottom of one of the doors. "Come on, we're wasting moonlight."

With that, she slipped into her octopus form and hopped through the gap. Tavio blinked, a bit surprised at her actions, before paling.

"Wait," he cried in protest. "Isn't this breaking the law?"

"Who's going to care? It's not like this place is active anymore. I doubt the security cameras are even on. Now quit worrying and get in here! We don't have much time before midnight."

"...What's so special about midnight?"

"You'll see. Come on, let's go! You won't regret this I promise!"

"I don't think this is a good idea…" Tavio glanced around, hesitant to go any further. "We're already breaking and entering…and it's freaky out here. I want to go home."

"If you come with me, I'll buy you that new Cephalobeats Deluxe game you wanted," Lunasa said, a sly look on her face. "And I'll not ask you to do anything crazy for a week."

"Eh…." Tavio shuffled his feet, nervousness warring with his desire for that new game. He only had a small number of coins available for buying things aside from the necessities, but if Lunasa was willing to buy that game for him...well, that would mean he wouldn't have to save his money for several more months. Plus, she was offering to not drag him off on another weird and fanatical adventure. That was something he couldn't pass up, despite his better judgment.

"Alright...but you better not go back on your word," he muttered before slipping into his octopus form and sliding through the hole.

It was dark inside, only a few beams of light breaking through the dirty and shattered windows. Cobwebs and dust piled up everywhere, lingering in the corners and broken display cases. It was pretty musty and damp inside, the scent of mold causing the pair of octolings to wrinkle their noses in disgust.

"Next time you want to drag me off somewhere, take me someplace clean," Tavio gagged.

"Oh, quit being a big baby," Lunasa retorted, though the effect was spoiled by the unpleasant look on her face. "It should be cleaner further in. Come on let's go."

"Further in?"

"Mmhm." The pair began to walk through the desecrated museum. "That's where the arena was located."

"Oh come on," Tavio muttered, rolling his eyes. "We could go to any turf war stadium, why do we have to break in to this one?"

"Because this one has a ghost in it."

"Wait _what?_ "

"Yep. Well, two ghosts anyway."

"Nope, nope, nopity-nope nope, nope I am out of here!" Tavio made a break for the entrance, only for his friend to stop him. "This ain't worth going through for a game!"

"I'll buy you another one of your choice," Lunasa pleaded. "And I won't pester you for a whole month!"

"You can't pay me enough to deal with ghosts!"

"Mmkay, well, I'll just drag you then. Come on let's go!"

"H-hey!" The red-tentacled boy let out a yelp as his friend grabbed onto his arm. Swiftly she began to drag him down the hallway, following the faded directions on the wall. "No fair, you're older and taller than me! Not to mention stronger!"

"Well," the older teenager retorted with a grin, "maybe you should use a dynamo roller if you want to build some muscles. That memestick of yours is way too light."

"For the hundredth, thousandth time, it's not called a memstick," Tavio whined. "It's the bamboozler MK II, a charger class weapon. And I don't just use a bamboozler, I also use the squiffer."

"It looks goofy, it's the only sniper that requires two fully charged shots to splat someone, and it goes _pew pew pew_ whenever you fire it. It's a memestick And no one can take a squiffer seriously."

"Is not! And let go of me!

"Can't hear you," Lunasa practically sang as she dragged him into a large open room. They were on a balcony overlooking the large turf war battlefield. It must have been a pretty place sometime in the past, back when it was still in use. Thick glass display cases, surprisingly in good condition, were set into the walls. They were empty, but once had housed art. Light streamed in from above, the result of the entire roof being made out of glass. Deep canals surrounded the arena, the pristine blue water that used to fill them long since drained away. What little remained was dark and muddy, choked by weeds that had long since taken root. Pedestals with statues were positioned around the perimeter of the room, most of them empty. Only two remained, remarkably in excellent condition. While the rest of the room was in a state of decay, these two statues looked to have been freshly cleaned.

It was quite odd, really. There was no reason for them to have been left behind. Most of the exhibits were either in storage or had been shipped off to Shellendorf Institute. Yet these two, which had to have some sort of significance given their size and excellent craftsmanship, were abandoned. Nothing about that made sense.

"Let's go!" Lunasa hopped over the railing, dragging Tavio with her. They landed near one of the old locations of the spawn points. All of the mechanical devices had long since been ripped out, leaving a jagged hole in the floor. Tavio wandered over to examine it until his friend sighed and tapped her foot impatiently.

"Okay, we have ten minutes until midnight," she announced after checking the time. "Here's the scoop. Supposedly at midnight, you can hear the ghosts start to laugh. We're splitting up - you'll search this half of the map, I'll search the other half. Try to find where the laughter's coming from, and get a recording if you can. And if you see anything paranormal, let me know immediately. You cool with what we're doing or need me to run through things again?"

"I'm not cool with this at all!

"Okay, perfect. Happy ghost hunting!"

Lunasa!" She ignored his outraged cry and super jumped away, no doubt heading for the other spawn point. Tavio groaned before looking around. He was already creeped out by this place, and now that he was alone that feeling was only magnified. Whimpering, the teen began to slowly inch forward, amber eyes darting back and forth to try and scope out the place. He wasn't looking for any ghosts though. Instead, Tavio was trying to find an exit.

"So far so good…" he mumbled, hesitantly walking forward. "No ghosts…"

" _Heh heh heh heh…"_

"Eek!" Tavio lept behind a box, curling up into a ball, shivering. The museum fell silent again, save for his panicked breathing. After a few moments, the teenager poked his head out. There was a terrified look on his face as he looked around. No one, or nothing, was in sight. Hesitantly the boy crept out, trembling.

"Man...I just want to go home...wait a minute, is that…?" He trailed off, noticing something down at the other end of his half of the room. There, by the large statue, appeared to be a door, and a look of relief formed on his face.

"Ha-ha! Yes! I am out of here," he cheered before running towards it. Once he drew closer, however, he realized it was merely a faded decorative panel on the wall. Frowning in disbelief, he came to a stop by the statue and groaned.

"No…"

" _Heh heh heh heh…"_

"Ah!" He flinched, stumbling backward and falling to the ground. "Wh-who...wh-who's there?"

" _Heh heh heh heh...ah hah hah hah hah...come to me boy…"_

"Aieeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

* * *

"Nothing yet…" Lunasa sighed as she looked around her half of the arena. With a groan the girl checked her phone again, trying to see what time it was. "One minute to midnight...almost there…"

" _Tee hee~ Who're you peep?"_

"Um...h-huh?" Despite herself, Lunasa felt a bit of fear grip her heart in an icy grasp. Sure she had come here looking for ghosts, but she hadn't actually expected them to be there."Is someone there?"

" _Yep! I'm here!"_

"Where?" The fuschia-tentacled girl looked around in confusion, only to pale as she spotted a transparent inkling sitting on top of the large statue. She was waving, a large grin on her face.

" _Right here, peep! You can see me, right? Who're you?"_

"U-um...yeah, I can see you." Trying to suppress her fear, the octoling slowly approached the statue. "Are you dead?"

" _Yeah, sadly."_ The ghost blew a raspberry before crossing her arms and pouting childishly. " _Let me tell you it wasn't my idea! Oh, wait you haven't told me your name! Tee hee, silly Rebecca! That's me by the way!"_

"Ah, right. I'm Lunasa. It's nice to meet you…?"

" _Ooh, pretty name!"_ Suddenly Rebecca warped right in front of her, way too close for comfort. At this distance Lunasa could see that the inkling's tentacles were a pale yellow, the color leached out of them by death. Brown eyes with a sparkle of mischief sized up the octoling, and the teen was wearing some fresh looking gear. The look was completed by a splat roller strapped across her back.

" _Will you be my friend? It's been a long time since I've had a friend. No one comes to play with me anymore...I've been lonely."_

"Oh...that's sad…" Lunasa's shoulders slumped. She could empathize with the girl's feelings. "...I'll be your friend then."

" _Really? Yayers!"_ Rebecca jumped up and down in excitement before squashing the octoling in a bone-crushing hug. For a dead girl, she was surprisingly solid.

"Ah! C-can't...breathe!"

" _Oh, whoopsie!"_ The inkling let go, allowing the octoling to crumple to the floor and gasp for air. " _Sorry about that!"_

"It's all good…" Lunasa groaned out before shaking her head. "How'd you end up here anyway?"

" _...I was doing a turf war here, right before the Square opened up,"_ Rebecca explained, plopping down on the floor next to her friend. A morose look adorned her face, somewhat unsettling given her normally cheerful demeanor. " _It was just a normal day, you know? But well...there was a problem with the respawn pads. I and another girl had taken each other out, we were the first splats of the game. We never respawned so…"_

"So you died," Lunasa summed up before frowning. "Wait, if that's the case, then what happened to the other girl."

" _She's-"_

" _Heh heh...I'm right here!"_

Both of the girls' eyes widened, and they turned around to be met with an unexpected sight. Tavio was there, but he was acting funny. The teen was kind of slumped over where he stood, a vacant look on his face. His stunning amber eyes were glazed over, the pupils dilated so much they could barely be seen. A strange blue mist swirled around his feet, occasionally climbing up to wrap around his legs and arm. Floating next to him was another ghost, though this one wasn't as friendly looking.

She had a stern, malicious look on her face, and was holding a grim range blaster in her hand. The gear she was clad in lent her the appearance of an army general, and her height allowed her tower over all that were present. Unlike the paleness of Rebecca's ghost, this one seemed darker, a bit less washed out. This allowed her midnight blue tentacles, fiery red eyes, and dark skin to appear solid. If it hadn't been for her freaky ghost powers and the fact that the edges of her body seemed hazy and drifted in and out of focus, she could've been any other normal inkling.

" _What do you want Indira,"_ Rebecca asked, rolling her eyes.

" _This one told me that there was another one of the living,"_ Indira replied, gesturing at the now mute Tavio. " _I figured that I'd get another plaything to entertain myself with. Well, for as long as they remain alive in here anyway."_

"What did you do to him?" Lunasa's blood boiled, her hands clenching into fists. Indira chuckled darkly, a smirk on her face.

" _You living fools are so easy to possess."_

"Let him go," she growled.

" _Heh, no way, girl,"_ Indira sneered before redirecting her attention to Rebecca. " _Maybe I'll use you octolings to get back at her. After all, you are the one who is responsible for our state._ "

" _Excuse me, but you splatted me at the same time I splatted you,"_ the yellow-tentacled inkling protested. " _And it's not like I knew that the respawn pads weren't working. No one could have known what would happen."_

" _What a pathetic excuse,"_ Indira growled, the mist swirling a bit faster. Almost as if in response, Tavio stood a bit more upright, pulling his squiffer out. He held it threateningly, pointing it at Rebecca and Lunasa.

" _Wait,"_ Rebecca held up a hand, trying to de-escalate the situation. " _I've got an idea. We never did finish that turf war, did we."_

" _Of course not, idiot,"_ the other ghost replied. " _We died, remember?"_

" _Yeah well, there's four of us now. We can split into teams of two. If your team wins, then you get the two octolings. But if my team wins you have to release the boy from your control and let them go. Sound fair?"_

"H-hey! I have several objections to this plan!"

" _Deal,"_ Indira smirked before drifting over to Lunasa, grabbing her chin so she could examine the girl's face. " _Hmmm, now aren't you a pretty one? I'm going to enjoy playing with you once I claim you as my prize. Come, boy. We have a turf war to win."_

She let go of Lunasa's face and turned around, beckoning for Tavio to follow her. He did so without question, ignoring his friend's desperate cries for him to come back. With a swirl of mist, the pair vanished, teleporting to one of the spawn pads.

" _Sorry…"_ Rebecca mumbled as the pair headed for their own spawn point. " _That was the only way I could think of to stop her from possessing you outright."_

"Ugh...guess I have no choice," Lunasa mumbled before unstrapping her dynamo roller from her back. "What are our chances of winning? I don't want to be possessed."

" _Eh...I'd say we have a fifty-fifty shot,"_ she mused. " _How good of a shot is that octoling with the squiffer?"_

"He's a great shot…unfortunately...two long ranged weapons against our short ranged weapons...we're pretty screwed, aren't we?"

" _No, we're not. Relax, I was one of the best roller users in the city back when I was alive. Rely on stealth to survive, okay?"_

"Yeah...okay." Lunasa nodded and gripped her roller tightly. "Let's win this thing."

Suddenly a burst of mist flew up into the sky, coming from the other spawn point. Lunasa jumped, but Rebecca grinned and darted off the spawn point.

" _That's the starting signal, let's go!"_

"Ah...Right!"

" _Be careful. There aren't any_ _spawn points here so if you or your friend get splatted, then you'll end up in the same situation that Indira and I are in."_

"Well that's a comforting thought," Lunasa mumbled dryly. "So focus on taking out that ghost?"

" _Yeah, do that and then we can focus on turfing the ground. That's our best chance to win."_

Lunasa nodded before running off to the right, hoping to take the faster route to the middle. Rebecca took the more leisurely path, swinging her roller left and right to spread ink on their platform. It was a turf war, after all, and now that the rotating platforms were broken there was no way for the other team to reach up there.

Indira and Tavio had a different plot, namely, take out their opponents. If they killed Lunasa then effectively they would win the fight.

" _Remember, take out the live one,"_ Indira hissed. Tavio nodded before hopping into the center and charging up his squiffer. He instantly began looking around, trying to spot the other octoling. Seeing no one, he shrugged and began to ink the turf. Once his back was turned, Lunasa dropped down and snuck up behind him. Despite the seriousness of the situation, she couldn't help but grin and carefully nudge him with the metal part of her roller.

"Heh heh," she giggled. "Boop!"

Tavio stiffened before turning around, a menacing look on his face. Lunasa grinned and waved at him before diving back into her ink, vanishing without a trace. It was good that she was so quick, for not even a moment later a large ball of ink struck the ground where the octoling had been standing. Indira's ghost floated down moments later, a peeved look on her face.

" _What a sad, pathetic sap,"_ she hissed before glaring at Tavio. " _Treating this as a mere game like the fool she is. And as for you, do not let her get away next time. This is a turf war, not a turf peace."_

Tavio nodded, looking a bit ashamed of himself. The ghost scowled before looking around.

" _Find that gir-agh!"_

"Nope!" Rebecca had finally made her appearance. The other inkling had managed to sneak up onto the central rotating platform while Indira's team was distracted. Now she pounced, leaping from high above to bring her roller down on the ghost's head. With an annoyed hiss, the blue inkling dissipated into a cloud of mist that floated off towards the other spawn point.

Tavio hissed as well, a rather malicious sound given his normally meek personality. It was a bit unnerving, but Rebecca shook it off and pushed him away. She then went back to inking turf, forcing the boy back as she did so. The ghost was careful not to cover him with too much ink, however. Killing the octoling was the last thing that she wanted.

" _How're you doing Moon Peep,"_ she called over her shoulder. On the other side of the map, close to where Rebecca and Lunasa had first met, the female octoling paused at the nickname.

"Moon Peep? Where the shell did that come from," Lunasa inquired.

" _Well, Luna means moon, and you're one of my peeps! So you're Moon Peep!"_

"...okay?" All Lunasa could do at that moment was give a little helpless laugh. Rebecca certainly was a bit odd at times. "I'm doing fine."

" _Heh heh heh...You are? Then let's change that…"_

Suddenly another ball of ink flew straight at the octoling, causing her to yelp and dodge to the right. The girl managed to avoid a direct hit, a fortunate thing indeed. However, the splash from the explosion managed to spray some acidic blue ink onto her skin. It immediately began to burn, and a pained yelp escaped the teen.

" _Hm...you're a fast one despite that cumbersome weapon of yours…_ " she mused, a sickly triumphant grin on her face. " _A shame that you'll only be able to dodge for so long. If I cannot have you as my plaything alive, then settling for your death will be the next best thing."_

"But the turf war isn't over with yet," Lunasa protested, trying to stall for time. "There's still a chance I'll be your prisoner if you win."

" _I'm no fool, unlike yourself,"_ the ghost retorted coldly, the mist around her violently writhing in response to her anger. " _Two rollers against a squiffer and a blaster. I knew from the moment we started that the chances of us winning was unlikely. That idiot octoling keeps rebelling against my orders and won't shoot anyone. Perhaps I should call him over here to kill you instead…"_

" _Yeah um, about that…"_ Rebecca popped up from behind some boxes. " _He ain't coming to any shooting parties anytime soon."_

" _So you say."_

" _Oh I don't just say, I know,"_ the sunny girl replied brightly. " _I might've kinda sorta knocked him out. He's sleeping like a baby. Ooh, can I call him Baby Peep? Is he a peep? He seems kinda mean but that could just be el grumpo's bad attitude affecting him."_

"Yes, he's friendly," Lunasa mumbled. "When he's not possessed anyway…"

" _Great, Baby Peep it is!"_

" _Insolent fool,"_ Indira roared, turning to face Rebecca. " _Why do you and your teammate treat this like a mere game?"_

" _Well, I mean, it is turf war after all. It's the best kind of sport there is."_ With a mischievous grin, the girl squidflopped a few times. " _C'mon, squid party with me. It's lots of fun! Great for relieving stress!"_

" _No."_

" _Party pooper!"_ The yellow inkling stuck her tongue out before rushing forward to engage Indira in a duel. Back and forth the two ghosts battled, first one gaining the upper hand and then the other. Blasts of ink clashes with large swipes from the roller, littering the ground with yellow and blue. It was a sight to behold, and Lunasa found herself awestruck and the sheer power and skill the two displayed. Rebecca caught her eye before subtly tilting her head in the direction of the center. The meaning was clear. She was being told to go ink turf.

Nodding, the octoling sank down into the ink and swam off. She emerged in the middle of the arena and placed her dynamo on the ground. Charging forward, she began to slowly ink more turf. Without Tavio or Indira there to hinder her, she soon had the blue completely covered in yellow. Lunasa took a moment to catch her breath and survey her work, a proud look on her face. That expression faded, however, once a startled yelp broke the air. Paling, the teenager ran towards the source of the sound. The sight that met her eyes was something that, quite frankly, terrified her.

Rebecca was on the ground, her roller knocked out of her ghostly hands. Indira was standing triumphantly in front of her, the barrel of her grim range blaster thrust right in the other inkling's face. Completing the picture was a pair of boots sticking out from behind a nearby pile of boxes. That must have been where Rebecca had stashed Tavio after knocking him out.

" _Oh how the mighty have fallen,"_ Indira mocked, a sneer on her face. " _Or it would be like that if it weren't for the fact that you are the exact opposite of mighty."_

" _You're so cocky with that blaster of yours,"_ Rebecca drawled, purposely dragging out her words. " _You know, I bet you wouldn't be so confident with something else. Wanna switch weapons?"_

" _No way."_ The midnight blue inkling shook her head, finger tightening on the trigger. " _I'll just splat you and then go kill your friend. Now might be a good time to say goodbye, or beg for mercy. I honestly don't care."_

"Ciao then you arrogant brat!" With that, Lunasa lept high in the air, dynamo roller held high. With a yell she brought it down on Indira, the ghost only managing to turn around and assume a shocked expression before the weapon ripped through her. Blue mist exploded outwards, gradually fading away into the air,. The part that had been controlling Tavio, rose up from behind the boxes, similarly vanishing. The octoling landed, breathing heavily before looking over at Rebecca. The inkling had a stunned look on her face, though it quickly morphed into one of delight.

" _That was wicked!"_ She pumped a fist in the air excitedly before squashing Lunasa in another hug. " _You were awesome Moon Peep! One moment she was being all mean and then bam! Moon Peep sweeps in with the dynamo to save the day! Haha yeah let's do it again!"_

"Agh...um...ah…" Lunasa squeaked until Rebecca finally let go of her. 'I don't know if the same trick will work twice."

" _Oh well doesn't matter,"_ the yellow-tentacled inkling said. " _We won!"_

"...we did?"

" _Yep! I've been counting since the turf war started,"_ Rebecca replied, idly starting to poke Tavio's foot. " _Plus Baby Peep doesn't have that mean mist around him anymore. He should be back to normal once he wakes up! Guess I hit him harder than I thought...whoopsie daisy!"_

"Uh…" Lunasa partially tuned Rebecca out as the girl continued to chatter. Instead, she was focusing on something else. "Rebecca...is it just me, or are you getting paler?"

" _Huh? What? Me? I dunno, I mean, I have been getting plenty of sunlight so…"_

"No, I'm being serious." The octoling walked over and grabbed onto Rebecca's wrist, lifting her hand up so the inkling could see it. Sure enough, it was paler than it had been before, the skin almost completely transparent. The fuzzy outline of her body also seemed to be increasing, fading the edges so that they blurred out of sight.

" _Now that's something you don't see every day,"_ the teen mumbled with a laugh. " _Oh wait that reminds me, I feel really weird. Is that normal?"_

"How should I know," Lunasa asked in exasperation as Rebecca floated over to retrieve her roller. "I've never met ghosts before."

" _Too bad. We're fun to be around. Well, most of us anyway."_

"...where do you feel weird anyway?"

" _In here."_ Rebecca gestured towards her heart with one of her hands, the fingers almost completely blurred out of existence. She seemed to be fading at an alarming rate, and suddenly an idea struck the girl.

"Maybe...maybe you're finally not stuck on this plane of existence anymore," Lunasa suggested a hint of hesitancy in her voice. "Maybe by finally finishing that turf war you started all those years ago means that you can go to whatever or wherever cephalopods go when they die."

" _Oh…"_ Rebecca's fuzzy shoulders slumped, and a pout appeared on her pale face. " _...but then I won't be able to play with you anymore…like, at all..."_

"Yeah I know, but think about it," her friend replied. "You won't be trapped in this museum anymore. You can be free."

" _I don't want to lose my friends though…"_ The ghost sniffled a bit. " _I wanna be able to play with you and Baby Peep again…"_

"You will one day," Lunasa said reassuringly.

" _...promise?"_

"I promise."

" _Okay…"_ Rebecca sniffled again, her eyes watering slightly. Without warning, she hugged the girl again. " _You're the best peep I could ever ask for Moon Peep!"_

"You're a great friend too, Rebecca," Lunasa replied, reciprocating the gesture. "I'm going to miss you. Don't do too many crazy things, you hear? I won't be around to save you next time."

" _Aw…"_ Her voice was growing fainter, the ghost's body almost completely faded out. It was almost impossible to see her now, the girl becoming a faint hazy form. " _But that's so fun though…"_

"We'll do plenty of crazy stuff next time we meet up, okay?"

" _Yeah! That'll be fun! We can pull pranks on people and swap the salt and pepper in restaurants and then we can dump buckets of ink on people and go exploring all sorts of abandoned places and do parkour and fill donuts with mayonnaise and make graffiti and then we can steal cookies and…"_

Her voice faded out as she spoke, finally falling silent. Lunasa watched as the mist that was once the solid form of her friend slowly dissipated. Eventually, it was gone, no longer visible, and the octoling was left holding empty air. With a small, sad sigh the redhead allowed her arms to fall. Despite only knowing the dead girl for a long time, she'd truly miss her. There was just something about the sunny inkling that made her smile.

"Ugh…" A faint groan stirred her from her thoughts, and turning the octoling could see Tavio sitting upright. He had a bleary-eyed look about him, confusion etched into his features as he glanced around.

"What happened…" he asked, taking in the sight of blue and yellow ink strewn everywhere. Lunasa smiled, reaching up to wipe away a few stray tears as she walked over to him. "Lunasa? What's going on? The last thing I remember is some creepy lady telling me to come to her…"

"Glad to see you're up and about," she said. "As for what happened...well, it's a long story. I'll tell you on the way home. Ready to get out of here?"

"Are you kidding? I've been ready to leave the moment we stepped in here," he replied, slowly standing up. "I looked all over the place for an exit and I couldn't find one anywhere."

"Uh...Tavio?"

"Yeah?"

"Why didn't you use the door on the balcony that we came through?"

"..." The boy groaned and facepalmed. "I'm such an idiot...I didn't even think of that…"

"H-hey, the important thing is that we're leaving now," she replied hurriedly. "Right?"

"Yeah, let's get out of here." Tavio shivered, looking around the museum in fear. "This place gives me the willies."

With that, the male octoling began heading for the balcony. Lunasa snickered before turning around to look at the statue behind them. If she concentrated hard enough, the girl could see an image of Rebecca sitting atop it in her mind, the memory of their first meeting. Sighing again, she moved towards it, a bittersweet grin on her face. It was quite a reach from the edge of the platform, but if she stretched Lunasa could just barely lay a hand on the pedestal. The octoling glanced upwards, staring at the statue's carved face.

"Goodbye, Rebecca," she whispered softly. "I'll miss you."

"Hey!" Tavio's shout caused her to jump, and the poor girl almost lost her balance. "Why are you hanging around that statue? Come on let's get out of here! I want to go home."

"Alright, alright, don't get your tentacles in a twist," Lunasa muttered before shifting into an octopus and super jumping to Tavio's location. The boy glared at her for a moment, causing her to adopt an innocent look. He sighed and shook his head before exiting the turf war arena through the door. Lunasa moved to follow him, only to pause and look behind her. Rebecca's statue was barely visible in the darkness, but she could just make out the beautifully sculpted inkling.

Smiling, she lifted a hand in one last wave before leaving the room behind. Once more the turf war arena was silent, the ink from the final fight slowly evaporating. Soon everything was as it had been before, a decrepit and empty museum, slowly dying as the hands of time aged the structure away.

" _Tee hee~ Thanks for the fun times, Moon Peep! I'm glad I got to know you! See ya next time I see ya!"_

One more faint laugh and then structure above the door suddenly crumbled, blocking off the room for good.

* * *

 **Okay, so a slightly longer author's note this time.**

 **As you probably noticed, this story is written in memory of Rebel. She is and was one of my closest friends, someone I knew from childhood. I can fully admit that we sometimes got along like cats and dogs, but we and another girl called Elektra were as close as sisters. It's why we started The Writer Triad together, the three of us working on making stories and poems to share with the world. It was a venture we started in high school, and one we've tried to continue since starting college. We were all over the country. I stayed local, Elektra went to another in-state university, and Rebel ended up going out to the midwest.**

 **Sadly, right before Easter of 2018, we were informed that Rebel had been in a car accident. She didn't make it...a light that was gone too soon from this world. I miss her terribly and wanted to do something in her honor as a tribute to her. Nothing I ended up writing really fit though. I scrapped so many drafts - her doing a turf war, her going to visit her family, hanging out with friends, terrorizing the shopkeepers in the game with her pranks and humor. It just didn't feel authentically Rebel, if that makes any sense. So it's kind of been on the back burner of my mind for a while.**

 **About a week ago I learned about the mysterious laughter in Museum D'alfonsino that one could hear during the night version of the map. It intrigued me, and before I knew it I had the start of a story where two octolings snuck inside to go ghost hunting. Then I got the idea to make one of the ghosts bright and bubbly, and before I knew it that ghost character became Rebel. I think she'd have liked how this turned out. I don't claim to know what comes after death, and I'm not here to tell you what to believe. But I hope that wherever she is, she's happy.**

 **Fly high best friend. I miss you so much, and one day we'll meet again. I'm sure of it.**


	7. Sanitized

"You let an 8-ball fall. Test failed."

Test Subject 9,374 paled upon hearing those dreaded words.

' _No no no no no no no!'_

Desperately the young teen tried to pull her Kamabo Corp ink tank off her back. She could practically feel the bomb strapped to the bottom of it inflating with that green ink. The octoling yelped in fear and began to scratch and yank at the locks holding the tank to her body. Her efforts were futile. The locks held firm, pressing the ink tank and bomb flush against her back. A high pitched beeping noise filled the air, growing more frantic as the minutes progressed. Soon it grew to a near-constant whine, and the teen shut her eyes in anticipation of what was to happen next.

With a wet squelching sound, the bomb overinflated and blew up, coating the octoling in soupy green ink. Subject 9,374 let out a cry of pain as it burned through her body, melting her away until all that remained was a puddle. A sad and terror-stricken octopus ghost flew off towards the station platform, a familiar routine for the teen at this point. This had to have been the third or fourth time she had completely failed this test. It was extremely difficult, even more of one than the test at Girl Power Station. She was tired, hungry, and in a lot of pain from being repeatedly splatted by CQ Cumber's bomb.

Speaking of the conductor, he was waiting for the girl once she finished respawning. It was hard to tell what the sea cucumber was thinking, but Subject 9,374 thought that there was a hint of sympathy on his gelatinous blue face. The octoling weakly smiled at him before stumbling over to the turnstile and pressing her CQ Card against the scanner.

"Insufficient funds," the machine said with a beep. "Please come back with more CQ points. Thank you for choosing the Deep Sea Metro, proudly run by Kamabo Corp. Have a nice day!"

"Insufficient funds?" The girl looked at the screen in confusion before pressing her card against it once more.

"Insufficient funds. Please come back with more CQ points. Thank you for choosing the Deep Sea Metro, proudly run by Kamabo Corp. Have a nice day!"

"...I must have used up too many points…" She sighed and hung her head before deciding to check her point balance. When the number flashed up on the screen, the teen's eyes widened in shock. "Z-zero? How?"

"Ah, pardon me, Subject 9,374," CQ Cumber slowly crawled over, rising up a bit to get a better look at the horrified girl. "If you have run out of CQ points, you cannot take the tests any longer."

"I...h-how will I reach the promised land now?" The girl sniffled, trying hard not to burst out sobbing. "I don't want to be stuck down here….not forever…"

"Kamabo Corp usually interviews the test subjects in these situations. I'll take you to Central Station. Someone from the company will pick you up from there."

"..." She whimpered again but slowly stood up and stumbled towards the train. One of her legs was having trouble supporting her weight, and her suit was all ripped and torn. The girl was thin, dreadfully so, and the pallor of her skin made it appear as if she was sick or dying. It was clear that she wasn't healthy. CQ Cumber felt a bit of pity well up in him at the sight of the defeated teen, but he held his tongue. It was corporate policy not to give details on what would happen next. In all honest he wasn't completely certain as to what happened to the test subjects that ran out of CQ points. But what the blue creature did know was that they never came back from their interviews. Chances were he wouldn't see Subject 9,374 again. It was a shame, she was one of the nicer test subjects he had the pleasure of interacting with.

Central Station was cold, a lot colder than Subject 9,374 remembered. The train had dropped her off a few hours ago and departed, leaving the platform devoid of life aside from herself. It was lonesome, especially after being used to being around the denizens of the deep for so long. At this point, after having waited so long, the teen was tempted to simply hop onto the tracks and try to find her own way to the promised land. It was clear that the tests weren't the answer for her, especially with her being out of CQ points.

Just as the octoling was about the work up the nerve to head off into dark tunnels, a pair of headlights came into view, and soon a small train pulled up to the platform. It was much fancier than the Deepsea Metro, clean of graffiti and polished to a shine. Kamabo's logo was emblazoned on the door. It slid open, and a smartly-dressed sanitized octoling stepped out.

"Test Subject 9,374," she asked, looking around the platform. The young teen whimpered a bit, terrified at the sight of the sanitized octoling. She had bad memories of fighting them off in several stations. They were one of the most difficult and unpredictable enemies the girl had faced during the tests.

"Test Subject 9,374?"

"I-I'm here…" Timidly, she stepped forward, and the octoling instantly shifted her gaze to stare at her.

"Ah yes, come with me," she said, gesturing for the teen to enter the train. Subject 9,374 hesitated, unsure if she would end up getting shot. She didn't trust any of the sanitized octarians, especially the octolings. They always were a pain to deal with, especially when the one with a special inevitably showed up.

"Ahem." A cough from the sanitized octoling drew her out of her thoughts. "I apologize for the rush, Subject 9,374, but we do not have much time. I can assure you that no harm will come to you on the train."

The young octoling still hesitated, unsure of whether or not there could be any sort of tricks regarding this. Her companion tapped her foot impatiently as the fuschia tentacled cephalopod poked her head inside the train, taking a look around. It seemed like a normal train car if a lot more plush and richly decorated than the normal ones on the Deepsea Metro lines. There was a table set up between some of the benches, laden with food. Upon seeing that, Subject 9,374's eyes widened and her stomach let out an angry rumble. The sanitized octoling noticed this and smirked.

"Would you like something to eat? Feel free to help yourself."

"Really?" The test subject looked at her with a shocked expression. "I can eat all that? Does it cost CQ Points? I'm all out of them…"

"Nope, it's completely free."

At her words, Subject 9,374 was already in the train and sitting down at the table. It was admittedly foolish for her to just blindly trust that nothing would happen. But she was starving and exhausted. A chance to rest her weary body and eat some food wasn't something she was going to pass up.

"Wow, this is really good," the young octoling exclaimed between mouthfuls, causing the sanitized employee to chuckle. "Way better than the stuff from the vending machines back in Central Station."

"I can imagine," the employee replied as she sat down across from Subject 9,374. "We do have business to attend to, however. According to your files, you've run out of CQ Points while doing the tests."

"Yeah...those eight ball stations are rough. One wrong move and then they fall off the stage."

"You also, however, were wildly successful in clearing other tests," the sanitized octoling continued after glancing down towards her notes. "Not many clear almost 60 tests, that's quite the impressive feat."

Her young charge grinned sheepishly, a slightly embarrassed blush forming on her face. She had encountered a lot of success in the other testing chambers, particularly the target busting ones. She had impeccable accuracy with midrange weapons, and the speed in which she cleared the stages was a testament to that.

"Normally we would have you do work around the stations, cleaning up after the tests and whatnot, in exchange for some CQ Points," the employee said, causing Subject 9,374 to flinch slightly.

"Y-you want me to clean up bodies?"

"No, no, not at all." Her unusual companion frowned, quickly shaking her head. "That is what we usually do for those that find little success in the testing chambers. You, however, are quite remarkable. Thus, Director Tartar would like to offer you a higher ranking position in the company."

"Really?" Eyes wide, the octoling stared at the sanitized occupant of the car in shock. A soft scraping sound echoed in the air as a door opened up, but neither octoling paid any attention to it.

"Yes." The employee nodded gravely. "So, do you accept?"

"Absolutely!"

As soon as her confirmation was voiced, a sharp pain blossomed in the back of her head and the teenager blacked out.

* * *

 _Pain...it hurt why did it hurt. Where was she? More importantly who was she?_

"Oi quit daydreaming!"

Try as she might, the teal octoling couldn't really remember much. Fragments of memories flashed through her mind. A train car, then suddenly a glass prison. Something that looked like...a billiard ball? Strange goop dripping into her body via IVs. A large isopod sitting on a bench admiring erasers? No that wasn't right...was it?

"I said, quit daydreaming, you lazy lout!"

A loud shout right by her ears caused the octoling to flinch.

"Sorry sir," she mumbled, snapping to attention. "It won't happen again."

"It better not," the teal octocommander muttered before raising his voice. "We're assigned to the line G today. Newbie, you're heading to G09. Don't mess things up, got it?"

"Yes, sir! I won't let you or Kamabo Corp down."

" _You let an eight ball fall. Test failed."_

"Hm?" The sanitized octoling looked around as the squadron began to depart. "Did someone say something?"

"No." Her superior glared at her. "Now get moving, the last subject who went through this test chamber let the eight ball fall. Go retrieve it and put it back in its holding area. And if you keep on spacing out and hearing things I'll personally send your sorry behind back to the main branch for resanitization, got it?"

"Y-yes, sir!"

* * *

 **There is way too much fanfic material in the octo expansion for me to use.**


End file.
